Written Answers Thursday 21 May 2009

Scottish Executive

Animal Welfare

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what actions it takes to monitor the export of horses to countries outside the United Kingdom.

Richard Lochhead: When horses are exported from the UK their export health certificates are recorded on the TRACES (Trade Control and Expert System) database. TRACES is an integrated web-based system maintained by the European Commission which assists in the management of intra and extra Community trade of live animals and animal products.

  The UK, Ireland and France have a tripartite agreement which allows the free movement of registered horses without export certificates. In these instances the movements will not be recorded.

Class Sizes

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authority schools in the north east are meeting the Scottish Government’s class size target of 18 pupils or fewer in primaries one to three.

Keith Brown: Sixty-one primary schools in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus and Dundee meet the commitment to reduce primary 1 to primary 3 classes to a maximum of 18 or fewer. This represents 20.8 per cent of primary schools in the area.

Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3O-6612 by Shona Robison on 23 April 2009, when the proposed visits to each local authority will take place.

Shona Robison: Following a letter being sent to local authorities at the end of April asking whether such meetings would be beneficial, eleven authorities have finalised arrangements, with the first meeting scheduled for 12 June. It is anticipated that the majority of councils will participate over the coming months.

Dentistry

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dental practices in the Lothians region have started accepting NHS patients since May 2007, broken down by local authority area.

Shona Robison: Dentists are not obliged under their NHS terms of service to advise NHS boards of any waiting lists they may hold. NHS Lothian may hold information on those waiting to register with their salaried dental service.

  The number of patients registered with a dentist under NHS arrangements in NHS Lothian has increased from 441,511 in September 2007 to 508,190 in September 2008.

Dentistry

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dental practices in the Lothians region have stopped accepting NHS patients since May 2007, broken down by local authority area.

Shona Robison: Dentists are not obliged under their NHS terms of service to advise NHS boards of any waiting lists they may hold. NHS Lothian may hold information on those waiting to register with their salaried dental service.

  The number of patients registered with a dentist under NHS arrangements in NHS Lothian has increased from 441,511 in September 2007 to 508,190 in September 2008.

Education

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many primary schools shared a head teacher as of 1 April 2009, broken down by local authority.

Keith Brown: The number of primary schools that were sharing a head teacher, as at the September 2008 teacher census, is shown in the following table. Data for other times during the year are not collected centrally. The sharing of a head teacher by two schools is seen by some local authorities as preferable to having a teaching head teacher.

  

 
Number of Primary Schools


Aberdeenshire
12


Angus
7


Argyll and Bute
4


Dumfries and Galloway
6


East Dunbartonshire
2


Eilean Siar
8


Fife
4


Highland
50


Moray
4


Orkney Islands
6


Scottish Borders
22


Shetland Islands
4


South Lanarkshire
14


Stirling
10


West Lothian
6

Education

Anne McLaughlin (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to promote arts and culture in schools.

Keith Brown: All young people should have access to a broad general education that provides flexibility, breadth and depth across all curriculum areas. The expressive arts are an integral part of the new curriculum and can strengthen learning across the curriculum, allowing teachers to use their creativity and initiative. Curriculum for Excellence will also provide opportunities for cultural organisations to work more closely and collaboratively with the education sector.

  The Scottish Arts Council runs and supports a number of positive educational activities within schools. These include the Youth Music Initiative, with an annual budget of £10 million, 80% of which is channelled through local authorities for work within schools, supports over 300 projects covering all musical genres, age groups and teaching methods. Amongst its key achievements are that children now have access to one year’s free music tuition by the time they reach primary 6.

  In December 2008 the Scottish Government published Culture Delivers, a resource for promoting cultural activities in communities and educational establishments across Scotland.

External Affairs

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its three main priorities are in respect of external affairs.

Michael Russell: Our priority is to ensure efforts in external affairs, as in all other areas of government, are focused on creating a more successful country with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish through increasing sustainable economic growth.

  The Scottish Government’s International Framework outlines our engagement internationally.

Financial Inclusion

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to review the membership of the Scottish Centre for Financial Education.

Keith Brown: The role and membership of the Scottish Centre for Financial Education will be considered following the wider review of Learning and Teaching Scotland. This will include consideration of the Centre’s role in delivering financial education in the context of Curriculum for Excellence.

Fisheries

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-23569 by Richard Lochhead on 12 May 2009, how many fisheries management rules cases have been passed to the procurator fiscal in each year since 1999.

Richard Lochhead: The number of reports submitted to the procurator fiscal concerning breaches of sea fisheries legislation in each year since 1999 is as follows:

  1999-2000 - 69

  2000-01 - 74

  2001-02 - 68

  2002-03 - 56

  2003-04 - 88

  2004-05 - 123

  2005-06 - 63

  2006-07 - 56

  2007-08 - 31

  2008-09 – 5.

Fisheries

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence is required for the prosecution of scallop dredgers who break the law by operating in an area, or during a period, in which scallop dredging is limited or prohibited.

Richard Lochhead: There is no definitive answer as the evidence required to secure a conviction will depend on the exact circumstances of each individual case. As a generality, however, to establish that a vessel master has fished in contravention of a prohibition on fishing with scallop dredges in a particular area will require sufficient corroborated evidence of the act of fishing with scallop dredges at the locus. Similar evidence would be required in circumstances where fishing for scallops is permitted but with certain limitations or restrictions on the gear used, along with evidence that the fishing gear used does not comply with the relevant restriction or limitations.

Gaelic

Dave Thompson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children are being taught through the medium of Gaelic.

Fiona Hyslop: The number of school pupils taught through the medium of Gaelic is published in Pupils in Scotland 2008 , which is available on the Scottish Government’s website at the following address http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/04/01090908/19 .

  As at January 2008, there were 57 pre-school centres who provided pre-school education through the medium of Gaelic. Within these 57 pre-school centres, there were 1,140 children registered for pre-school places funded by the local authority. However, we do not know whether all these children were being taught pre-school education in the Gaelic medium. Also, there is some scope for multiple counting if the same child is registered for pre-school in more than one pre-school centre.

Health

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS boards have completed the Agenda for Change review process for health sciences, broken down by board and date of completion.

Nicola Sturgeon: Decisions on how the review process is progressed in each board area, such as the order in which each job family is dealt with, are taken in partnership at local level. Different boards will, therefore, be dealing with the Healthcare Sciences job family at different times and in different ways. From the national data currently collected, it is possible to extract some information on the Healthcare Sciences staff group and the situation being reported by boards as at 30 April 2009 is presented in the following table.

  

 Health Board
 Number of Healthcare Sciences Post Holders Covered by Review Requests Received
 Number of Healthcare Sciences Post Holders Covered by Review Requests which have been Processed


 Ayrshire and Arran
 298
 232


 Borders
 70
 70


 Dumfries and Galloway
 28
 0


 Fife
 53
 14


 Forth Valley
 66
 6


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 532
 0


 Grampian
 411
 411


 Highland
 221
 62


 Lanarkshire
 87
 42


 Lothian
 727
 140


 Orkney
 4
 4


 Shetland
 4
 3


 Tayside
 422
 101


 Western Isles
 11
 11


 Golden Jubilee National Hospital 
 4
 2


 Scottish Ambulance Service
 0
 0


 NHS24
 0
 0


 NHS Education for Scotland
 0
 0


 NHS Health
 0
 0


 NHS Quality Improvement Scotland
 0
 0


 National Services Scotland
 382
 350


 State Hospital 
 0
 0


 Totals
 3,320
 1,448

Homecoming Scotland

Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to its European counterparts in relation to the Scottish Government’s culture policy, particularly regarding Homecoming Scotland and the promotion of the Year of Homecoming across the European Union.

Michael Russell: I have regular bilateral contact with representatives of European nations. On 11 May 2009, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning hosted a successful cultural reception in Brussels which promoted the Year of Homecoming. On 12 May 2009, I led the UK delegation at a meeting of the Education, Youth and Culture Council in Brussels, which had a particular resonance because of its focus on the creative industries.

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many rented properties it estimates are not registered under the National Registration Scheme for Private Landlords and what action is being taken to address this issue.

Alex Neil: We have no firm data on the number of private rented properties that are not registered.

  However, based on statistics from the Scottish Household Survey, we estimate that approximately 85% of private rented sector properties are covered by applications for registration.

  There are about 233,000 households in the private rented sector. Taking the number of properties included in landlord applications – 198,476 as of April 2009 – as a proxy for households gives an estimated coverage of 85% of private rented sector households.

  However, these figures are an estimate only. We do not know how many of the 233,000 private rented households would require registration. Some are likely to be exempt because they do not fall within the scope of the legislation, for example, because the let is to family members or because the landlord is resident in the let property. Some households in the sector may also share a property (for example, tenants who live in an HMO). In other words, we cannot directly compare households with the number of properties requiring registration.

  Local authorities have a range of powers available to them to enforce registration including taking action to identify unregistered landlords and to ensure compliance with the registration requirement.

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual fund is for the Low-cost Initiative for First-time Buyers and how many first-time buyers have been able to purchase homes as a result of this initiative.

Alex Neil: The Low-cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers (LIFT) brings together a range of Scottish Government initiatives to help households get onto the housing ladder.

  This includes the New Supply Shared Equity scheme and Open Market Shared Equity Pilot scheme; shared ownership; Rural Home Ownership Grants (RHOGs), and GRO grants for owner occupation (grants to private developers to build low cost housing for sale).

  The annual fund for LIFT, published on 12 May 2009, is £97.396 million and from this budget we hope to be able to help over 2,055 first time buyers. From 1 April 2009 to date, a total of 60 people have been able to purchase a home from the Open Market Shared Equity Pilot scheme. A breakdown of the budget is as follows:

  

 LIFT
 2009-10
 Units


 New Supply Shared Equity/ shared ownership 
£32.564
 452 


 Open Market Shared Equity Pilot 
£60.000
 1,500


 Rural Home Ownership Grant
£1.002
 33


 GRO 
£3.830
 70 


 Total
£97.396
 2,055

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many potential homeowners applied for support to purchase a home in each local authority since the Low-cost Initiative for First-time Buyers commenced.

Alex Neil: In October 2007, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing announced the establishment of a new Low-cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers (LIFT) to bring together a range of Scottish Government initiatives to help households get onto the housing ladder.

  LIFT covers a broad range of support for first-time buyers, including the New Supply Shared Equity scheme and Open Market Shared Equity Pilot schemes; shared ownership; Rural Home Ownership Grants (RHOGs), and GRO grants for owner occupation (grants to private developers to build low cost housing for sale).

  The only information held on applicants centrally for LIFT relates to the Open Market Shared Equity Pilot scheme. Between October 2007 and 30 April 2009, a total of 1,848 completed application forms have been returned to the registered social landlords (RSLs) operating the scheme on behalf of the Scottish ministers. Not every completed application form will, however, be eligible for the Open Market Shared Equity Pilot scheme.

  Please see below the total number of completed applications received broken down by each local authority:

  

 Local Authority
 Number of Completed Application Forms Returned


 Edinburgh and the Lothians, Fife and Scottish Borders


 Edinburgh
 684


 East Lothian
 122


 Fife
 5


 Midlothian
 113


 Scottish Borders
 0


 West Lothian 
 318


 Eilean Siar
 0


 Grampian


 Aberdeen City
 142


 Aberdeenshire
 87


 Moray
 10


 Highland
 185


 Orkney
 4


 Shetland
 0


 Tayside and Forth Valley


 Angus
 0


 Clackmannanshire
 0


 Dundee
 3


 Falkirk
 9


 Perth and Kinross
 23


 Stirling
 76


 West


 Argyll and Bute
 1


 Dumfries and Galloway
 5


 East Ayrshire
 3


 East Dunbartonshire
 2


 East Renfrewshire
 2


 Glasgow
 30


 Inverclyde
 1


 North Ayrshire
 0


 North Lanarkshire
 11


 Renfrewshire
 1


 South Ayrshire
 5


 South Lanarkshire
 4


 West Dunbartonshire
 2


 Total
 1,848

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many potential homeowners are on a waiting list for assistance under the Low-cost Initiative for First-time Buyers, broken down by local authority.

Alex Neil: In October 2007, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing announced the establishment of a new Low-cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers (LIFT) to bring together a range of Scottish Government initiatives to help households get onto the housing ladder.

  LIFT covers a broad range of support for first-time buyers, including the New Supply Shared Equity and Open Market Shared Equity pilot schemes; shared ownership; Rural Home Ownership Grants (RHOGs), and GRO grants for owner occupation (grants to private developers to build low cost housing for sale).

  The only waiting list information held centrally for LIFT relates to the Open Market Shared Equity Pilot scheme. Waiting lists for New Supply Shared Equity and shared ownership are held locally by RSLs. There are no waiting lists for RHOGs.

  With regard to the Open Market Shared Equity Pilot scheme, as at 15 May 2009 there were 77 potential applicants on a reserve list in the following three local authority areas:

  

 Local Authority
 Number on Waiting List


 Aberdeen City
 27


 Aberdeenshire
 7


 Highland
 43


 Total
 77



  There are no reserve lists being held in any other local authority areas.

  In order to ease demand for the scheme in the Grampian and Highland Open Market Shared Equity Pilot scheme administrative areas, a further £1.2 million has been allocated to each of these areas. This should allow a further potential 30 purchasers to benefit from the scheme in each area. The scheme will continue to be monitored closely in relation to applications and sales levels across the country.

Influenza

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are plans to extend eligibility for the free influenza vaccination programme to pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.

Shona Robison: Pregnant women and breast feeding mothers who are at risk from the flu due to certain medical conditions are currently eligible for vaccination. At present there are no plans to extend eligibility to all pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.

  The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the UK-wide advisory body on immunisation and vaccination issues, does annually review the target groups for seasonal flu vaccination based on the latest available evidence.

Influenza

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what recommendations have been made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation regarding the inclusion of pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers in the free influenza vaccination programme.

Shona Robison: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommends free influenza vaccination for any pregnant women in one of the eligible at-risk groups. There is currently no separate recommendation for breastfeeding mothers, but there is no evidence of risk from vaccination for breastfeeding mothers.

Influenza

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has of increased risk from influenza-related illness for pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.

Shona Robison: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) make recommendations on those groups of people who are at risk from seasonal flu who should receive the free flu vaccination. At present there is limited evidence of any increased risk for pregnant women other than those in at-risk categories, and accordingly, no recommendation has been made by the JCVI. The committee does regularly review the at-risk groups to take account of the latest evidence.

Justice

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it regards the resolution of the Parliament on motion S3M-4065 on Thursday 7 May 2009 as being binding on it.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government has noted the views expressed by the Parliament in its resolution on motion S3M-4065 and continues to discuss with Glasgow City Council how best to deliver benefits envisaged for the Glasgow Community Justice Centre through mainstream services. It is not, however, formally bound by the resolution.

  As part of the normal constitutional arrangements, the Scottish Government is not necessarily bound by resolutions or motions passed by the Scottish Parliament. Duties or functions are imposed by the Scottish Parliament on the Scottish Government by way of enacting legislation to that effect.

Livestock

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it is undertaking regarding badgers and the transmission of bovine tuberculosis and whether it intends to publish the results.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is not currently undertaking any research relating to badgers and the transmission of bovine TB. There is no evidence to date that suggests any significant reservoir of infection in wildlife and in particular the badger population in Scotland.

Livestock

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of bovine tuberculosis have been identified in each year since 2004.

Richard Lochhead: The numbers of new confirmed incidents since 2004 are:

  2004 - 23 cases

  2005 - 13 cases

  2006 - 18 cases

  2007 – 21 cases

  2008 – 14 cases.

Livestock

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take to prevent the widespread re-emergence of bovine tuberculosis.

Richard Lochhead: Scotland continues to have a relatively low and stable incidence of bovine TB. Current policy remains effective in identifying and eradicating new incidents of TB in Scotland.

  Current controls include:

  Zero tolerance of overdue tests;

  Pre and post movement testing of all cattle coming to Scotland from high incidence areas of GB, and

  Gamma Interferon testing applied to all cattle over six weeks of age on holdings as identified as new confirmed breakdowns.

Livestock

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received on the need to introduce further measures to prevent the widespread re-emergence of bovine tuberculosis.

Richard Lochhead: Scotland continues to have a relatively low and stable incidence of bovine tuberculosis. Current control policy, introduced with industry support, continues to effectively identify and eradicate any new incidents of bovine tuberculosis and no representations have been received to introduce further measures.

Mental Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many beds were originally planned for the new mental health in-patient facility at Gartnavel Hospital.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many beds are available at the new mental health in-patient facility at Gartnavel Hospital.

Shona Robison: NHS Greater Glasgow’s 1999 Modernising Mental Health strategy proposed the development of 117 acute short-stay beds in the new mental health hospital at Gartnavel Hospital. The profile of these beds is detailed in the table below.

  

 Adults
 60


 Elderly
 45


 Intensive Psychiatric Care Unit
 12


 Total
 117



  In addition, the board planned for the retention of 30 long-stay non-acute beds (consisting of 10 intensive rehabilitation long-stay beds and 20 adult long-stay beds) in good quality ward accommodation from the existing mental health ward capacity elsewhere on the Gartnavel site.

Mental Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the planning assumptions are for bed numbers at the new mental health in-patient facility at Gartnavel Hospital for (a) Greater Glasgow and (b) Clyde patients.

Shona Robison: The relevant planning assumptions as set out in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s Vision for the Vale document assumed a total of 60 acute adult mental health beds at Gartnavel Hospital: 48 beds for the Greater Glasgow area, and 12 beds for the Clyde area (although the board’s proposals for adult mental health in the Vision for the Vale have not yet received Ministerial approval).

  As confirmed in the answer to question S3W-23876 on 21 May 2009, NHS Greater Glasgow’s 1999 mental health strategy proposed that there should be a total of 60 acute adult mental health beds at Gartnavel Hospital. As I would expect, the board has revised its planning assumptions in line with national policy and operating experience since 1999. The development of appropriate crisis and assertive outreach services throughout the country over the last 10 years has seen a significant shift in the balance of care from management of adult acute mental health problems in inpatient settings to the management of a proportion of such problems through community-based crisis teams. This has seen comparable bed levels in England reduce by 10-20% over that period. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has confirmed that the average relevant bed use throughout 2008 at Gartnavel Hospital was 49 beds. As such, Gartnavel Hospital is already operating close to the revised 48-bed plan and can be expected to appropriately reduce its bed use level as community-based services are further consolidated.

  In terms of the planning assumptions for the remaining categories of mental health beds at Gartnavel Hospital, the board have confirmed that the number of Intensive Psychiatric Care Unit beds are to remain at 12: 10 for the Greater Glasgow area and two for the Clyde area. As with adult acute mental health services, the board’s assumptions are based on historically low occupancy levels, meaning the Clyde area activity can be absorbed without constraining current levels of Greater Glasgow activity.

  There are no changes in the assumptions around the older people’s contingent of 45 beds at Gartnavel as the Vision for the Vale proposes that the relevant patients from the Clyde area should be treated at the Vale of Leven Hospital.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Mental Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive where NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in-patient mental health facilities are located.

Shona Robison: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has confirmed that its inpatient mental health facilities are currently located at the following hospitals (excluding learning disabilities and NHS nursing homes): Stobhill Hospital (including the Rowanbank Clinic); Leverndale Hospital; the Southern General Hospital; Parkhead Hospital; Gartnavel Hospital; Dykebar Hospital; the Royal Alexandra Hospital; Ravenscraig Hospital; Inverclyde Royal Hospital, and the Vale of Leven Hospital.

Mental Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the in-patient mental health capacity was of the planned secure units at Stobhill and Dykebar hospitals.

Shona Robison: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have confirmed that there were 44 medium secure and 30 low secure beds planned for the original Stobhill Local Forensic Psychiatric Unit (for Glasgow residents). At the same time, 30 beds on the Leverndale site were due to close following their migration into the new development of the Stobhill forensic unit. A mixture of 30 medium/low secure beds were originally planned for the Dykebar unit (for West of Scotland residents with the exception of Glasgow).

Mental Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive where the in-patient mental health capacity that was to be provided by the secure unit at Dykebar Hospital has been accommodated.

Shona Robison: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have confirmed that by retaining the low secure beds on the Leverndale site, the 30 planned beds for Dykebar were provided as part of a reconfigured 74-bed medium secure bed unit at Stobhill. The net effect is to leave the overall capacity for medium and low secure beds unchanged at 104 beds.

Mental Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the planned in-patient mental health capacity at Gartnavel Royal Hospital has been affected by the loss of capacity at the planned secure unit at Dykebar Hospital and, if so, how this has altered bed numbers.

Shona Robison: No forensic capacity was ever provided or planned for Gartnavel Hospital so these changes have no impact on the Gartnavel Hospital.

NHS Staff

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-19042 by Nicola Sturgeon on 9 January 2009, whether it still expects NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to complete the Agenda for Change review for its Health Sciences group by the end of June 2009.

Nicola Sturgeon: It is for NHS boards as employers to take forward Agenda for Change Reviews. However, I understand that following the start of the review process in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, it has been necessary to revise the projected timelines. This has been taken forward in partnership between the board and the staff side and under the revised plan the review process for Healthcare Sciences is now due to commence on 29 May. Staff will have eight weeks to submit paperwork and it is expected, therefore, that the reviews will commence at the end of July 2009.

  The board are committed to completing reviews as soon as possible thereafter and we are continuing to monitor all Scotland progress on a monthly basis.

NHS Staff

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the new cleaning staff announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing at the SNP conference on 17 April 2009 will be allocated to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde received funding for 84 whole-time equivalent domestic staff.

NHS Staff

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the new cleaning staff announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing at the SNP conference on 17 April 2009 will be allocated to the Vale of Leven Hospital.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the new cleaning staff announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing at the SNP conference on 17 April 2009 will be allocated to the Royal Alexandra Hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: Funding has been provided to all NHS Boards. Decisions about the number of cleaners to be allocated to individual hospitals is a matter for NHS boards.

National Trust for Scotland

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each of its directorates has granted to the National Trust for Scotland in each year since 2006-07.

Michael Russell: Grant given to the National Trust for Scotland by the Scottish Government since 2006-07 is shown in the following table:

  

 Directorate
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09


 Culture, External Affairs and Tourism
£2,431,690.92
£1,671,811.27
£2,809,035.90


 Transport
£1,474,091.38
£297,670.92
£147,066.97


 Historic Scotland
£481,948
£1,157,836
£417,560

Ophthalmic Services

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been distributed to provide ophthalmic services, broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison: General Ophthalmic Services (GOS) is a demand led primary care service. The (GOS) budget is non-discretionary and NHS boards are funded to the level of their expenditure in meeting the costs in their area of providing the NHS eye examinations, optical vouchers issued and the fees for domiciliary visits. The GOS budget for 2008-09 was £83.9 million and is £87.4 million for 2009-10.

  An additional £8 million of capital funding was made available to optical practices through NHS boards over the financial years 2007-08 and 2008-09, primarily for the provision of digital fundus cameras to further support the development of the NHS eye examinations.

  NHS boards also received a further £2.6 million of pump priming funding over the financial years 2007-08 and 2008-09 to help implement the recommendations of the Review of Community Eyecare Services in Scotland.

Police

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the officer allocation was for each division in Strathclyde Police after the allocation model was recalculated in July 2008.

Kenny MacAskill: Police officer establishments are a matter for police authorities and chief constables.

  I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23821 on 19 May 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Police

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers have retired from Strathclyde Police since July 2008, broken down by division.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

  Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland collect and publish annual data on police retirements, the latest figures for which are available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/public-safety/Police/local/15403/Statistical.

Police

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it produces guidance for police forces on costing the policing of major events.

Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-23840 on 19 May 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Prison Service

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to announce details of the contract to build the new prison at Low Moss.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

  The procurement process is underway and a detailed evaluation of bids is being undertaken by an SPS team. Once all the relevant information is to hand, a decision will be announced.

Prison Service

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects (a) construction work to begin on, (b) construction work to be complete on and (c) the first prisoners to move into the new prison at Low Moss.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

  The procurement process is underway and a detailed evaluation of bids is being undertaken by an SPS team. Once all the relevant information is to hand, a decision will be announced and this will provide project timescales.

Residential Care

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what new arrangements the Care Commission has put in place for monitoring the standard of care in nursing homes since May 2007.

Shona Robison: The distinction between nursing homes and residential care homes was removed in the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001. All services providing accommodation together with nursing, personal care or personal support are registered with the Care Commission as care homes. The arrangements for monitoring the quality of care in care homes through inspection and complaints investigation are an operational matter for the Care Commission.

  As part of its commitment to ensuring good quality care, the Care Commission introduced in April 2008 a grading scheme for care services, including care homes. This was in response to what service users, their family and carers want, and was piloted in the 2007-08 inspection year. The grading system provides clear information to everyone about the quality of each care service across different aspects of that service.

  Further information about how the commission inspects care homes and its grading system is available from its chief executive. Her contact details are:

  Ms Jacquie Roberts

  Chief Executive

  Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care

  Compass House

  11 Riverside Drive

  Dundee

  DD1 4NY

  Email: Jacquie.roberts@carecommission.com.

  Phone: 01382 207100.

Rural Development

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has run out of funding for the Rural Priorities scheme for 2009.

Richard Lochhead: We have not run out of funding for the Rural Priorities scheme for 2009.

  Rural Priorities is successfully investing in rural Scotland, and in four rounds we have approved £124 million for 1,800 projects in rural Scotland. SRDP has a huge role to play in Scotland’s economic recovery and the funding delivered so far demonstrates the Scottish Government’s commitment to rural Scotland.

  By making £10 million available for the next round we are giving rural businesses – large and small – the chance to start even more projects which will create sustainable rural communities for future generations.

  With that in mind, we will hold two further funding rounds in this calendar year; one in August for 2009 funding, and one in November, which will concentrate on opening up the 2010 budget. The closing date for the August round will be June 22.

  I can also confirm that in the future we intend to hold three funding rounds per calendar year which will give potential applicants a clear timetable for the remainder of the scheme.

  The high number of applications so far shows that Rural Priorities has captured the imagination of rural Scotland and their increasing quality demonstrates that its objectives are increasingly understood, although we recognise the need for improving certain elements.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the review of the Scottish Qualifications Authority’s accommodation in Dalkeith has included consideration of alternative sites outside Midlothian.

Fiona Hyslop: The decision on the future of the Scottish Qualifications Authority’s (SQA) Dalkeith accommodation must deliver the best possible balance between value for money and the effective delivery of services to the public of Scotland at a time of increasing economic and public sector pressures. One of the considerations which is to be taken into account is the travel to work area of the SQA’s staff. The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) requires a wide range of options to be considered. Therefore, options both within and outwith Midlothian have been included.

Social Care

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints there have been since May 2007 from relatives or other relevant people about the care of older people in private nursing homes and what the outcomes have been.

Shona Robison: The distinction between nursing homes and residential care homes was removed in the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 (the Act). All services providing accommodation together with nursing, personal care or personal support are registered with the Care Commission as care homes.

  The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of complaints made about care homes. The Act requires care service providers to have a complaints system and to investigate complaints made against their service. The Act also requires the Care Commission to have a complaints procedure and to investigate complaints about care services, including care homes.

  Information about its complaints procedure, and data on complaints received, can be obtained from the Care Commission. Please contact the chief executive:

  Ms Jacquie Roberts

  Chief Executive

  Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care

  Compass House

  11 Riverside Drive

  DUNDEE

  DD1 4NY

  Email Jacquie.roberts@carecommission.com

  Phone 01382207100.

Social Care

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with COSLA or other bodies following Audit Scotland’s 2008 recommendation that the Scottish Government and local authorities should work together to agree a national eligibility framework that defines risks and priority levels to ensure transparency in access to care for older people.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with COSLA or other bodies with regard to a national eligibility framework for all community care services provided by local authorities.

Shona Robison: We have reached agreement with COSLA that the £40 million in additional funding from 1 April will be spent on delivering a package of measures to stabilise the free personal and nursing care policy in the immediate term. Significant progress has been made in developing with COSLA and key stakeholders a consistent eligibility framework to be operated by all councils for access to adult social care services and which will be applied across Scotland. We will be in a position to formally consult on these proposals very shortly.

Transport (Scotland) Act 2001

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to repeal Part 3 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001.

Stewart Stevenson: At present, we have no plans to repeal part 3 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001. However, we will consider this at the next legislative opportunity.

Waste Management

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its views are on the planned waste incinerator and recycling centre at Greengairs in North Lanarkshire in light of the area’s local plan.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government’s view is that the local planning authority, in this case North Lanarkshire, has determined the application in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.

  I understand that the council granted consent for the development on 7 May 2009.

Waste Management

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reasons the Scottish Environment Protection Agency is introducing a register of septic tanks; how much this will cost, and how many additional staff will be employed to keep the register.

Roseanna Cunningham: The registration of septic tanks with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has been a requirement since 2006 under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities)(Scotland) Regulations 2005. The register ensures SEPA has current information on the location of discharges, the water bodies to which they discharge together with the risk of pollution. This information helps the development of long term strategies for protecting Scotland’s environment.

  Septic tank registrations are recorded and maintained as part of SEPA’s existing registry functions. There is no identifiable additional cost to SEPA of processing septic tank registrations and no additional staff are employed for this purpose.